-- With the Heat, it's all about rotation continuity, with Gerald Green stepping in for sidelined Deng having limited impact on a rotation that has Justise Winslow and Tyler Johnson as the first two wings off the bench.

-- Winslow again entered for Bosh midway through the opening period, leaving Green on the court at that point.

-- Green came out firing, as expected, making the Heat's first basket but also taking three of the Heat's first seven shots.

-- To his credit, he also had four rebounds in the first four minutes.

-- Green played all 12 first-quarter minutes, the only Heat player to do so, with four points and five rebounds in the quarter.

-- Now the question is whether Deng also takes off Friday in New York to give that sore hamstring six days to heal, with the Heat's next game after New York not until Monday against the visiting Celtics.

-- The is-it-a-pass-or-is-it-a-lob oop from Wade to Whiteside remains sublime.

-- The misdirection worked to perfection midway through the opening period.

-- One of the few things that did for the Heat on this night.

-- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra then put Dragic in a speed lineup at the end of the first period that paid dividends, alongside Winslow, Green, Johnson and Bosh.

-- Van Gundy said he texted Steve Clifford, his former assistant in Orlando, after Clifford received his contract extension from the Hornets. "I'm really had for him," Van Gundy said of the Charlotte coach.

-- Despite Brandon Jennings again dunking, Van Gundy said his sidelined point guard is not close to returning. "He's a ways away, still," he said. "He doesn't have his quickness back."

-- The Palace has to be the NBA's coldest arena among those that don't have hockey teams.